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Surgeon: Dr. Gary Anthone, Los Angeles, CA
Surgery date: August 4, 1999
Pre-op weight/BMI: 306/46
Current weight/BMI: 159/23.8 (as of September 15, 2001)

 
Left: Pre-op (306lb.); Center: Post-op (still in hospital); Right: 3.5 mo. post-op (245lb.)

 
Left: 8 mo. post-op (199lb.); Center/Right: 10 mo. post-op (188lb.) Down 118lb!

 
Left/Center: 1 yr. post-op (181lb.) Down 125lb.; Right: 2 yr. post-op (159lb.)

by Carla:

MY WEIGHT HAS BEEN MY GREATEST
PAIN AND SHAME

Throughout my entire life, my weight has been my greatest pain and shame. As far back as I can remember, I have been teased about my weight. I have accomplished so much in my life, except I could never manage my weight. As I look back on my high school pictures, it angers me that I was considered fat. I was a majorette and practiced routines for several hours a day. I know that baton twirling dates me, but trust me my routines were a very aerobic exercise.

My weight went out of control after my marriage. I constantly dieted and exercised, but at the end of every year I was still 10 pounds heavier than the year before. My weight/eating was a constant source of argument in my marriage. In the early 1980’s I went on a protein powder fast through a doctor using Nutrimed (similar to Optifast). For more than a year, I suffered tremendous deprivation but lost slightly more than 100 pounds. I was able to reach my all time adult low weight of 138. At 5’7”, I was wearing a size 10. Within a year of reaching goal, I left my marriage for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried the weight continued to come right back on very quickly.

Through the rest of the 1980’s and 90’s, I continued seeking my doctor’s help and I tried a variety of drugs, exercises, eating plans, etc. I would lose 25-30 pounds and then gain it back plus some. For years I went to therapy (group and private counseling) to try and understand what was wrong with me. I was never able to accept my weight and like my fat self . I suffered greatly from the shame of being fat.

One day online I started researching obesity and ran across a site to ask a doctor a question. Some nice doctor in Florida wrote me and suggested I contact a Bariatric Surgeon in my area, and gave me the URL for the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (http://asbs.org/). Fortunately for me, the only surgeon listed in my area was Dr. Rabkin. At the time of my consult, April 1999, I had no idea of the differences between DS and RnY. After my consult with Dr. Rabkin, I was convinced that I finally found a surgery I could live with. I was approved within a week and scheduled my WLS for early July after my trip to Europe. I had completed all the pre-op appointments and then learned that because Dr. Rabkin was not in my insurance network, I would have to come up with a substantial amount of out-of-pocket money. By this time I was active on the DS Onelist community and members suggested I fly to see Dr. Anthone who was in my network. I canceled my July surgery with Dr. Rabkin and after I returned from Europe I had my consult with Dr. Anthone. Because I was already approved for the surgery, I was able to have my surgery scheduled for August 4, 1999. I quickly did all of my pre-op tests in my home town and results were faxed to Dr. Anthone’s office.

Prior to surgery, Dr. Anthone told me that I would be a week in the hospital and then I would have to stay in the area for another week. My mother flew down with me the day before surgery and we rushed around doing my last minute tests. I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am for 7:00 am surgery. Because my mother could not stay away from her sick husband for two weeks, we agreed that she would fly back home for the week I was in the hospital and then fly back to LA and stay with me for the week I was in the hotel recovering. My hospital stay was thankfully uneventful. I met some wonderful online friends from the DS mailing list community who helped my week pass by. Much to my surprise and delight, the day before I was to be released to a local hotel, Dr. Anthone told me I could go home and not have to spend a week in LA! I quickly changed all my plans and my mother flew down in the morning on my release day and we flew home together. I contacted a local surgeon to take out my feeding tube three weeks after surgery. My recovery continued to be uneventful. I stayed home for 8 weeks before returning to work.

The first time I was able to fly back to see Dr. Anthone was 7.5 months post op and I had lost 102 pounds. I am so grateful to finally be rid of the shame and pain of obesity!!

Bile Blockage Complication: October 5, 2000 (14 months post op)
For over a week, I was having a lot of low back pain and was being treated by a chiropractor. Thursday, (10/5/00) I came home from work early – about 11:00 with excruciating pain in back and on left side of my stomach (first time I felt it there). In about an hour I had dry heaves and very nauseated. I tried to be brave… thinking I might have the flu along with back problems. At about 1:30, the stomach pain escalated, I paged Dr. Anthone (my weight loss surgeon from Los Angeles) and described what was happening. He told me to immediately get to a hospital and have a doctor call him. He told me to dial 911 if I couldn’t find a ride. My neighbor drove me.

As I checked into ER, I presented the hospital with my insurance card and Dr. Anthone’s emergency card. The hospital doctors first thought I was passing a kidney stone but did call Dr. Anthone. After speaking to Dr. A, a surgeon was called in on my case. As luck would have it, the local surgeon had just recently been to a seminar conducted by Dr. Rabkin so he was familiar with the DS procedure! The local surgeon spoke to Dr. Anthone and came back to me and said that Dr. Anthone thought I was having a bile blockage in the short limb (not the long intestinal part). He further stated that if the short limb dies due to strangulation or blockage….I would die. Dr. A told the local surgeon he had a patient (maybe more than one, I can’t remember) whose hospital waited too long to operate and that patient died. Before I knew it, I was off to surgery.

I had walked into the ER at 2:00 and was being operated on by 4:00! The local surgeon told me he would be opening me up the entire length of my original scar for exploratory reasons. The surgeon found a massive amount of adhesions around the bile limb and they were removed. My hernia was repaired and he stapled me back up (which I didn’t ask about until after surgery). That was October 5th. For a couple of days I struggled with low blood pressure (78 / 48) and a temperature of 103.6. Finally, on October 9 everything looked good and I was released on Oct. 10.

I feel very lucky! Dr. A told me this happens to 1% of his patients and doesn’t mean it will happen to me again. Adhesions/blockage can be a result of ANY abdominal surgery – not just WLS. The reason I am adding this complication to my story is to urge all post-ops to be aware of your body, pain, and don’t be afraid to call your WLS if you think something isn’t right. At 14 months post-op, I thought I was through with the complications, but I was wrong. The recovery from this surgery complication is nothing compared to original WLS. I view this as just a bump in the road to a healthier, happier life.

At 14 months post op, my stats are: I weigh 171 (-135 pounds), and wear a size 12 (from a 3X). I am happier than I have been in years!

July 19, 2001 (23 months post op)
On July 19, 2001 I had a full abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), hernia repair, and a mastopexy (breast lift) with augmentation (implants). My journey now feels complete. I have been given this glorious second start on life and I plan on taking full advantage of it!

2nd Year Anniversary August 4, 2001
Because of my July 19 surgery, I waited until September 14, 2001 (25 months post op) to take my 2nd Year Anniversary pictures. Today, I weigh 159 pounds (-147 pounds) and am liking the changes the last round of surgery made in my figure. Life is good!

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